dowerless

Lacking bridal portion

Dowerless means without a dowry—the money, property, or goods a bride traditionally brings to a marriage.

The term appears in older literature where marriage prospects depended heavily on what a woman's family could provide: A dowerless daughter had few suitors among the landed gentry.

Now largely historical.

impoverished

penniless

Completely without money

impecunious · moneyless · beggarly · pauperized · necessitous · strapped · broke · insolvent · hand-to-mouth · hardship

matrimonial

bride

Woman getting married

nuptial · wedlock · matrimony · trousseau · matchmaking · suitor · spinster · unmarriageable · settlement · alliance

disadvantaged

vulnerable

Open to attack

unprovided · disinherited · landless · resourceless · unsettled · deprived · marginalized · excluded · voiceless · helpless

Opposites
marital property/dowry status

dowerlessendowed

Given natural abilities

portioned · well-endowed · propertied · wealthy · moneyed

Family

endow, endowment, dowry, endowed, endowing, dower, endower

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Profile
Used worldwide · Timeless · Abstract · Negative · Rated G